I went to Paris last year and made a point to visit the Musee de l’Ecole Nancy in Nancy, France. If you are fortunate to get to Paris – please DO take the 1.5 (approx) hour high speed train over there. You could even make it a day trip.

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Any of you with a penchant for arts and crafts will faint when gazing at the treasures inside this small museum. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed which I respectfully followed but you can buy a very fine book with pictures of most of the pieces in there.

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They let you get extremely close to the pieces. The most wretched of humans will go as far as touching the pieces which is followed by a “tsk tsk” from the museum staff. Do it a few times and they will usher you out. I got my eyeball merely inches from several of the fine works. My partner had to drag me out of there kicking and screaming.

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To get a taste of this museum, this is an oak door that is standing outside, encased in a free standing wall in the museum garden. The carving – “La racine est au fond des bois” roughly translates to “The root is at the base of the tree”. A cute play on words. It was created by Eugene Vallin in 1897.

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The following is not of wood – but is a beautiful door which is the first thing you see when you enter the museum property.

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The pictures below are not mine, but linked to the musee de nancy site which I highly recommend browsing.

I saw this in person. Magnifique! Another of Eugene Vallin’s works.

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I almost died when I saw this dining room. I want that!!! Again, Eugene Vallin.

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Another of my faves was Louis Majorelle (a sample of his work below). His pieces are all over the place and still for sale. I walked into an antique store in Nancy and could have bought one …. but it would have cost way more than my trip to France.

I have just been to Nancy myself, and I completely agree—Nancy is absolutely worth a visit, and especially the Musee de l’Ecole Nancy. Really fascinating woodwork, and also a lot of iron work, casted as well as forged, glass work etc.

At the Nancy tourist office you can also get an audio guide for a walking tour through Nancy, about two hours, which will let you discover all the beautiful Art Nouveau style buildings of Nancy. This was the hi-light of my trip.